1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to remote radiation surveying of relatively level surfaces by an autonomous robotic system incorporating radiation detectors, laser assisted navigation, ultrasound obstacle avoidance, real-time transmission of radiation readings and locations, and visual alarm displays for notification of the detection of radiation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Radiological surveys of areas contaminated with radiation, or chemical surveys of areas contaminated with toxic chemicals, are historically done by workers who manually transport and operate instrumentation for sensing radiation or toxic chemicals from point-to-point within a contaminated area, therefore providing a potential for worker exposure as data is acquired.
The invention is an improvement to the mobile robot for radiological surveys described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,324,948 to Dudar et al., which is incorporated by reference. Dudar discloses a robot system equipped with two gas-proportional detectors for radiological surveys which interface with a radiation analysis instrument. The gas-proportional detectors are sensitive to alpha, beta-gamma, or other radiation such as neutron or gamma-only radiation. The gas-proportioned detectors require a constant purge of gas for operation. The Dudar robot system must carry two gas cylinders at all times, which add to the weight of the robot system and require time for purging of the gas lines when the gas cylinders are changed. The Dudar robot system has an obstacle avoidance system that limits the operation of the robot to structured areas, and the robot does not function adequately in open unstructured areas such as large interior storage buildings.